'''Zapp''': The men are just for ballast. I control all the drones from this single unit. ''[He holds up controller.]'' Foolproof and durable; it's designed to withstand the weight of a modern day elephant foot. ''[A wooly mammoth tramples them, making Zapp drop the controller, which is crushed by the mammoth's foot, causing the drones to crash and explode.]''</poem>

'''Zapp''': The men are just for ballast. I control all the drones from this single unit. ''[He holds up controller.]'' Foolproof and durable; it's designed to withstand the weight of a modern day elephant foot. ''[A wooly mammoth tramples them, making Zapp drop the controller, which is crushed by the mammoth's foot, causing the drones to crash and explode.]''</poem>

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<poem>'''Fry''':And-and the worst part is, I had to have the breakup sex by myself! ''[sobs]''</poem>

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<poem>'''Fry''': And-and the worst part is, I had to have the breakup sex by myself!

Plot

Act I: "Ach du freakin' lieber!"

The Professor decides that the crew should relax from work and suggests that they go to Oktoberfest. Fry arrives at the event with excitement but discovers that it has developed into a sophisticated event over the years, attended by the most renowned and calling for the most proper behavior. Fry, upset at the changes, refuses to behave and yells, gets drunk, and chicken dances on the table. Bender wants to enter the Sausage Contest, but Elzar points out that not just any type of meat will be enough and that he needs to be more creative. Bender is determined to find something extraordinary. Meanwhile, Leela is so outraged and embarrassed by Fry's behavior that she breaks up with him.

Act II: "I broke up with my boyfriend and then I ate him!"

Fry and Bender cry together; Fry because Leela left him and at the disappointment of future Oktoberfest, and Bender because everyone has fancier sausage meat than him. They view a historical projection, explaining that Oktoberfest is held in the Neander Valley, where Neanderthals and mammoths lived. Bender decides to use mammoth meat for his sausage entry, using its rarity as an advantage. Bender and Fry take the ship out looking for a preserved mammoth, which they proceed to excavate and grind with the help of a giant sausage maker. While Fry helps Bender, he is caught by the machine and sucked in. Unaware of what has happened, Bender returns to the contest with his Mammothwurst, which is well received. Leela samples one and is horrified to discover trace amounts of Fry's hair and clothing pulverized in the meat. Back at Planet Express, the crew hold a funeral for Fry. Overcome with guilt, Leela has all of her memories of Fry severed from her working memory. The crew tries to be careful not to trigger any memories of Fry in Leela. Unbeknownst to the crew, Fry is actually still alive, frozen over in a glacier deep in the Neander Valley.

Act III: "I guess it's just you and me, chicken hat!"

Fry, in fact, survived Bender's sausage machine--but not before the grinder tore off some of his hair and all of his clothing, explaining the remains found in Bender's sausage. He hits his head and falls into the mammoth hole, where he develops a swollen forehead, loses his short-term memory and is trapped in the solidifying ice. Fry is rescued a week later by Neanderthals, who identify him as a kindred Neanderthal by his enlarged browbone. Leela and Fry both struggle with their feelings as they see certain objects that spark memories of each other, though neither one can explain why. Fry discovers that Neanderthals were driven away to live in the valley by Homo sapiens, who viewed themselves as biological superiors and refused to interbreed and coexist with them. An angry Fry decides to lead a charge of Neanderthals against humans on the "outside" to take back what is theirs. The charge wreaks havoc on Oktoberfest; Zapp Brannigan fails to use technology against them, Bender strategically steals awards from his contest peers, and Leela levels her own attack against the Neanderthal leader Fry, whom she cannot recognize, from the Planet Express ship. Fry and Leela fight each other hand to hand but they observe one another more closely ("Orange?"/"Purple?") and, as Leela's memories are rekindled and Fry's swollen brow returns to normal, they kiss and reconcile. Seeing this union between a Neanderthal and a Sapien, the Neanderthal chief halts the attack, the war concludes with love and peace, and the two species celebrate together that night, restoring Oktoberfest to the loud and drunken glory of Fry's day. Leela admits that his version of the event is far more appealing, and invites Fry to chicken dance with her as he had done earlier to her embarrassment. Fry replies, "Just this once, I'll let you embarass me." The episode ends with Leela proudly doing the chicken dance in front of Fry on top of the table, in the midst of everyone else celebrating.

Production

In 2011, a few revelations concerning the episode were made. On 15 November, Futurama assistant director Aimee Steinberger revealed that "[the production team was] done with [the episode]", calling it "[her] most time intensive grueling ep ever", and that the animatic would be screened "on the FOX lot [on the next day]".[2] On the next day, after leaving the screening, she revealed that "Everyone [had] liked it"[3] and, after watching the animatic, Futurama writer Eric Rogers revealed that it "might be [the best episode of the ninth broadcast season]", calling it "EPIC".[4]

In 2012, more revelations concerning the episode were made. On 29 February, CGEF revealed the episode's title, its writer to be Dan Vebber and its director to be Stephen Sandoval.[5][6] On 20 April, Steinberger revealed that she "[had seen] fully animated color acts 2 and 3 back from Korea on [her 7ACV08 the previous day]" and that she "still [thought it was] a really great show"[7] and Rogers jokingly asked her if "[she had been] expecting it to be worse".[8] On the next day, she, in reply to him, revealed that "[it had been] demanding a lot" and that "[she thought that] when [it was] done [it would] be nice"[9] and he, in reply to her, revealed that "[it was] a monster, for sure, but [that Rough Draft] always [delivered]" and that "[it would] be awesome as always".[10] By 8 June,[11]MSN TV had revealed the episode's plot and air date.[12]

In June, Countdown to Futurama began releasing promotional material for the episode. It has so far released seven items: a design of the cover of Unfrozen Dude Magazine on 13 June,[13] a design of a Neanderthal chief on 14 June,[14] part of the storyboard set in a sausage contest showing Bender angry about winning third place and Zapp as a judge on 15 June,[15] a design of a Neanderthal version of Fry on 16 June,[16] a promotional picture showing a drunk Fry on 17 June,[17] a video clip featuring Bender and a drunken Fry, wearing a chicken over his head, searching for woolly mammoth with an elephant detector on 18 June[1] and a promotional picture of a group of Neanderthals charging with woolly mammoth on 19 June.[18] The seventh Countdown to Futurama podcast revealed more information about the episode, including elements of its plot.[19]

On 12 July, following the broadcast of the episode "Zapp Dingbat", the public were given the opportunity to participate in a live chat with the Futurama cast and crew. Several clips of "Fun on a Bun" were shown during the live stream.[20]

Reception

On 3 May 2012, Aimee Steinberger revealed that she had "watched the finalish color, full animation for [the episode] at the FOX lot [on that day]", that "it really did turn out nice" and that she was "Really proud of [it]"[21] and Eric Rogers called it the "2013Emmy nominee", "Epic fun"[22] and "awesome".[23]

When the Neanderthals find the hole in ice, the small boy who brings the news claims that it is "out past Cesar Chavez Ridge". This likely refers to Chavez's rather prominent forehead.

When Hermes first sees a mammoth, he refers to them as "Hairy Elephantes" which is an allusion to American singer/songwriter Harry Belafonte.

Hermes' endless screaming at the giant sloth as everyone else runs away in the battle of Oktoberfest could possibly be a reference to a scene in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, where a security guard screams and stands in the path of a slow steamroller (and is subsequently run over and killed) after others have long fled from it. Thankfully, Hermes and the sloth have a happier outcome.

Quotes

Professor: Crew, you're working too hard.[Bender staples another picture of a clown to the wall, which has been poorly coloured in, like a child's drawing.]Bender: Tell me about it.Professor: For once, I thought it might be nice to do something in a social setting! Finally get to know each other. Why, I don't even know half your names! [He points to Fry.] You, boy! What do they call you?Fry: Most folks just call me 'Orange Joe'.

Bender: Hey, Elzar! I've just recently started always having dreamt of being a sausage making champion.

Fry: I hate future Oktoberfest! It's supposed to be beer and bratwurst, not break ups and - [He gestures towards a History Kiosk.] - boring thing!

Bender: It's tragedy on a bun!

Zapp: [He summons a squad of small fighters with a controller.] Behold our latest weapon. A revolutionary fleet of unmanned drones...with men in them.Leela: Then how are they unmanned?Zapp: The men are just for ballast. I control all the drones from this single unit. [He holds up controller.] Foolproof and durable; it's designed to withstand the weight of a modern day elephant foot. [A wooly mammoth tramples them, making Zapp drop the controller, which is crushed by the mammoth's foot, causing the drones to crash and explode.]

Fry: And-and the worst part is, I had to have the breakup sex by myself![Fry sobs.]

Goofs

The Neanderthals already speak English when they find Fry.

It is possible they learned English while trying to get to the outside world, or they learned it in their attempt to befriend Homo Sapiens.

Ground sloths and saber-tooth cats were only found in the Americas, thus Neanderthals would have never interacted with them. Furthermore, the Neanderthals would have frozen over before these species went extinct

During the invasion, the ship is seen firing, but in previous episodes a gunner (Fry) was in place. The gunner position itself is unnecessary if Leela can control the ship's guns all from her console.

It is most likely that the ship has a targeting system via Leela's console, but a manual gunner position is available to take the strain off of the captain so he/she can concentrate on flying.

She may have had an unseen person (possibly Scruffy) in the gunner's spot.

Although the map of Germany and the location of the famous Neanderthal are quite accurate, the Oktoberfest is actually held in Munich, in the southeast. The glaciers of the Alps nearby would have made a good place for finding prehistoric mammoths and people, since for example Ötzi the Iceman was found there.

The history booth specifies that Oktoberfest has been held in the Neander Valley for "hundreds of years," implying that it had been held somewhere else earlier.

Bender says that the mammoth will have been aged for 30,000 years -- but freezing meat does not age it.

The Neanderthals are shown having a catapult, but the catapult wasn't invented till about three thousand years ago, long after the Neanderthals were trapped.

They may have invented it themselves, possibly by Fry's guidance.

None of the people tasting beer would have been able to taste it accurately. Beer has to be swallowed in order for all of the flavours to be detected by the pallet.

They weren't doing Oktoberfest 'properly' either - their ignorance is consistent.

For a brief moment, Fry's hair appears black when he is in Bender's meat grinder.

Fry's hair was partially cut when he nearly died in Bender's meat grinder and never grew after the beginning of the Neanderthals' attack. However, when Fry faced off Leela on the Planet Express ship, his hair appeared just like it used to be before the incident.

In the scene where Leela finds the chicken hat, it's Fry's. But in a later scene you see her wearing her own chicken hat.